Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Don't worry, don't worry, we still have some freshly made and hot ones at home. I'll go back and get them right now," Li Xiaomiao said cheerfully to those who hadn't bought any pancakes.

Just after Li Xiaomiao left, Wang Youcai and Tian Guihua, a married couple, came to sell two buckets of mung bean water.

"Mung bean water, refreshing mung bean water, a big bowl for just one cent. Come and have some!" Tian Guihua put the wooden bucket by the roadside and started calling out.

The person who just bought the flatbread is now feeling so thirsty that it's hard to swallow, even though the flatbread is delicious and fragrant. Having already spent the morning in the sun, eating only flatbread makes them feel even thirstier.

A coin was handed to Tian Guihua.

"Give me a bowl of mung bean soup."

"Okay, here you go." Tian Guihua took the money, stirred the bucket with a large spoon to make the few mung beans at the bottom float to the top, and then scooped out a full bowl of mung bean water and handed it over.

Seeing only a pitiful few mung bean curds at the bottom of the bowl, the person was somewhat dissatisfied.

"There are far too few mung beans in this."

“Brother, it’s hot, and only this kind of drink can quench your thirst. If I give you half a bowl of mung beans, you’ll still be thirsty after eating them, right? This thin soup is the best to eat with flatbread.”

The man felt that Tian Guihua's words made some sense, but he still thought there weren't enough mung beans. However, he didn't dwell on it and took his bowl and some flatbread to find a slightly shady spot to eat.

"Brother, drink up! Don't forget to bring the bowls back to me. I only brought five or six bowls with me. We'll run out soon," Tian Guihua called out to the man.

"Know it!"

Upon hearing Tian Guihua's words, several more people gathered around, and soon the bowls that Tian Guihua had brought out were all used up.

"There are no more bowls. Anyone who wants to drink will have to find a bowl themselves," Tian Guihua said.

At this point, there was no concept of hygiene. Those who hadn't gotten any water started staring at the people around them who were drinking from bowls, waiting for them to finish so they could get their own bowls to ladle out soup.

At the dining table in the main room of the Zhang family, Zhang Youtie apologized to Steward Qin for his previous actions.

To everyone's surprise, Manager Qin just laughed heartily.

"Brother Zhang, don't overthink it. After Madam learned of your actions, she praised you for your benevolence and righteousness." The atmosphere in the room was peaceful.

Just as the meal was about to end, Manager Qin at the table suddenly changed his expression and smashed a rough porcelain bowl towards the doorway.

"Brother Zhang, you were the one who begged the Shen family to come to your Zhangjia Village to buy watermelons back then. What's wrong? Now that the reputation of Zhangjia Village watermelons has spread thanks to the Shen family, and more people are coming to buy watermelons, you look down on the Shen family now. Isn't that right?"

Manager Qin's outburst was so sudden that Zhang Youtie was momentarily stunned, but he quickly recovered.

He said with a hint of helplessness.

"Steward Qin, this... this is my oversight. I took the money from the Shen family to buy watermelons, but then returned them. It was my mistake. But what should we do now? We really can't buy enough watermelons weighing more than ten catties. Steward Qin, could you please discuss this with Master Shen and Madam Shen and ask them to be lenient?"

"A little leniency? Do you know that our Shen family has also signed an agreement with them? If we can't deliver the goods on time, we'll have to pay three times the amount in compensation. How about it? Can you afford that?" Before Zhang Youtie could answer, Steward Qin continued.

"Even if you can come up with the compensation money, so what? You've ruined the reputation of the Shen family for honest business practices. If everyone did business like you, buying and returning, selling and then demanding it back, how could we do business?"

Manager Qin's voice was not quiet at all; it carried outside through the gap in the curtain. The people in line naturally heard Manager Qin's angry rebuke of Zhang Youtie.

Some, with thin skin, felt ashamed of what they had done before, while others looked on with amusement at the Zhang family. Uncle Ma, standing tall, saw everyone's expressions clearly.

The sound continued to come from inside.

"I don't care what method you use, I must collect five thousand catties of watermelons today. If I don't, you will compensate us three times the amount of silver." After saying this, Steward Qin angrily flung the curtain and walked out of the room. He whispered a few words to the horse-riding servant who had come last time, then got into the carriage he had come in and disappeared.

The Shen family servants, who were resting outside, looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Steward Qin had already left; should they wait here to pack the watermelons or follow him?

The news of Steward Qin's outburst at the Zhang family's house quickly spread throughout the entire Zhang family village, and every word of it was relayed to everyone in the village.

Zhang Tianming, who was angry with his wife, heard the message and hurried home to discuss it with his mother.

He had originally planned to sell to the Shen family and then sell the more mature watermelons to merchants in town at a higher price. However, after hearing about what had happened to the Zhang family at the drying yard, he became restless. Although he was stingy, he was also very shrewd. He was currently earning thirty coins a day entirely thanks to the Zhang family; even the watermelon seedlings were sold by Zhang Youtie's family. If the Zhang Youtie family fell on hard times, what good would it do him?

When I arrived at my brother's house, I found my mother and my brother and his wife carrying melons and walking out.

"Mother, where are you all going?"

"What else can we do? Sell melons, of course," Zhang Tianming's mother said, glancing at him with her eyelids raised.

"I know you're going to sell melons, but I mean, where are you going to sell them?"

"The Zhang family," the group called out as they walked. Hearing their reply, Zhang Tianming stood there, somewhat stunned. His mother glanced back at him, gesturing for her youngest son and daughter-in-law to go first. She put the load on the ground, looking at her son with a weary expression.

"Eldest son, if you have any sense at all, sell the watermelons to the Zhang family, no matter the price. Don't follow your good-for-nothing wife's example. You've heard what happened at the Zhang family, haven't you? From now on, whoever we sell our watermelons to, it doesn't matter, but this year our watermelons can only be sold to the Shen family. If it weren't for the Shen family, would any merchants even know we grow watermelons here? Our good life is thanks to the Zhang family; we should be grateful." After saying this, he didn't care whether his son had come to his senses or not, and picked up his load and left.

"Mom, I'll go back right now, pick the melons and take them over." Zhang Tianming had already made up his mind when he came, and now that his mother had persuaded him like this, he was even more determined to do so.